


lovely dark deep

by LightningRidgeBlackOpal



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Cryptid!Shane, Dryad Shane?, Fairy Shane?, Gen, M/M, Paranormal investigation, References to Robert Frost, shyanexchange2k19, shyanwritingevents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-31 07:27:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20111374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightningRidgeBlackOpal/pseuds/LightningRidgeBlackOpal
Summary: While searching for a cryptid in the woods, investigator Ryan Bergara discovers more than he bargained for, and finds himself speaking to a mysterious man named Shane.





	lovely dark deep

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Gresea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gresea/gifts).

**1 deep**

The woods surround him; swallow him. Ryan Bergara may be one of the most renowned paranormal investigators but something about the woods at night always frightens him more than any sanitorium or graveyard or crumbling mansion. It's the wild nature of it; how removed he feels from society. The darkness is more complete out here, shrouded by the trees.

He shines his light, sweeping back and forth before focusing on the thin, winding deer trail ahead of him. "There are rumors," he begins, quietly planning out his narration for once he's finished the investigation, "whispers on the wind, of a creature in these woods. The locals speak of it like a secret, voices like brittle leaves rattling in the breeze."

He pauses, takes a deep breath, and soldiers on through the thick brush. He moves as quietly as he can. "Lanky and tall it stands over six feet. It moves silently through the woods like it was here long before, like the woods are a garden it knows intimately. Icy white eyes in an otherwise human face, they say. Like it wears a mask."

There is a break in the trees in front of him, where his light reaches farther and the trees thin out to nothing. As he breaks into the loose circle of trees a shiver runs up his spine. He stops still. Out in the trees he sees a shadow move and jerks his flashlight to illuminate it.

The camera in his other hand- his knuckles a white capped ridge against the dark leather strap- beeps twice and then dies.

A figure steps into the circle, the wind picks up, Ryan screams. It's large, easily seven feet tall; a shadow in the shape of a big burly man, legs loose and arms akimbo; the light seems to be absorbed into it, there are no features but a big black spot, like nothingness staring back at him.

It moves toward him and he wants desperately to turn back and run but cannot move. It takes another step, and something else breaks the treeline. Ryan is still as he watches another figure crash into the first one from the side. They tumble, growling fiercely and fighting with each other.

This second figure is smaller, more human like, and when it moves across the shaking beam of light Ryan can see brown hair and horns and sharp teeth.

He feels a tear slide down his cheek, and then he passes out.

**2 dark**

When he opens his eyes, he groans. It is profoundly dark and his head feels split open. His mouth tastes like copper. He lies still for a long time, and when he hears someone - or something - shuffling around he opens his mouth to speak but only manages a groan.

"Oh good," a voice says, "you're awake." Ryan's mouth snaps shut and he tries to stay absolutely still in the darkness. There's a rough, scratching noise and then the room is filled with flickering orange light. 

It seems to be a simple room, just a worn old couch (on which he is lying) and an antique radio and a fat overstuffed chair (on which someone is sitting) and a table with some candles. The radio is on, soft music in the room, too quiet for him to place what it is.

"I was worried, you've been asleep for a while. You feel alright?" the man asks. Ryan doesn't answer. He just keeps trying to do inventory in his mind. His camera is on the table, looking like the man was examining it. His phone is next to it. His shirt is neatly folded on the back of the couch. There's an old threadbare blanket draped over him that smells like lavender and pine. Finally, he looks over at the man. Brown hair, messy and with leaves sticking out of it. Eyes like an old man; eyes that have seen so much; wicked in a way, like a jester. He's wearing loose, worn cotton pants and a billowing shirt. He looks a bit Shakesperian, if Ryan is being honest. Anachronistic.

"I don't think so," Ryan mumbles eventually. His head is pounding. The man gets up and disappears around the back of the couch, comes back and sets down water in front of Ryan. He sits up, the blanket pooling around his waist, and drinks greedily. "What was that thing?" he asks.

"Nothing friendly," the man answers. "I'm Shane, by the way. Don't get too many visitors out here," he says, chuckling. Ryan grabs his shirt and holds it in his fists, staring down at it. As he unfolds it to put it back on he notices a tear, a huge jagged hole running across the chest of it. He looks down at himself, but there's no wound he can see. He pulls the shirt on, and as he does he glances over and sees Shane watching him, something hungry in his eyes. "Don't worry," he says, "you're safe here. This part of the woods is my home and none of the nasties out there come here."

"Nasties?" Ryan questions. He has concerns. Like not knowing where he is. Like not knowing how long it's been since he checked in with his crew. Like not knowing whether or not he can trust this guy.

"Oh yeah. There's lots of spooky stuff out here. You really shouldn't go wandering through the woods alone, especially at night."

"What about you? You live out here?" Ryan asks. He's unsure why he's even talking, why he hasn't moved from the couch. "All alone?"

Shane shrugs. "You're never alone in the forest."

**3 lovely**

It's still night, Ryan discovers looking out a small cut-out window. The space he's in seems to have originally been a small cave in a cliff face, but it has wooden floors and a wall across the mouth with a rough hewn door.

"You were only out a couple hours. It'll be morning soon," Shane says and Ryan nods. He sits back down on the couch and Shane places a mug of what smells like herbal tea in front of him. "Once the sun is up the woods are much safer."

Ryan is confused and intrigued. This mysterious man in the woods, the big shadowy figure. As his headache recedes he remembers more and more of the events leading up to this. "You fought that thing. You… you had horns," he says. Shane smiles and shrugs again but there is mischief in the tilt of his mouth.

"Maybe I did. Maybe it was dark and you were scared. Maybe I'm not even real.

"Or maybe you came out here looking for something and you found it. Maybe it wasn't what you expected. Maybe I'm lanky and tall and these woods are like my garden, but my eyes are brown and the face isn't a mask.

Ryan gulps. So he watched the video.

"Maybe I'm the nasty thing in the woods, and maybe I'm not. Maybe your tea is getting cold."

Ryan is quiet, then he picks up the mug and takes a long drink. "Maybe you're what I was looking for," he says, "and the rumors are just rumors."

Shane holds his hands out, a gesture of obfuscation and mystery. The light in the room fades into pinks as the dawn arrives. The candles snuff out as a breeze drifts in the window and flutters Ryan's shirt. When Shane smiles, his teeth are sharp.

"There are lots of things in the woods. Forests are known for hiding what they don't want to reveal."

The dawn is full, the room much smaller in the daylight, and Ryan isn't sure he wants to leave yet. But the new day is calling to him, and the thought of his crew draws him up from the worn couch.

"But you wanted to reveal yourself," Ryan says, less a question than a statement. Shane just shrugs again. His trickster smile and ancient eyes. "Maybe I'll see you again." He steps closer, right in front of this mysterious man in the woods; face to face with some being inarguably older and wiser and more powerful than him. He leans in and presses a kiss to Shane’s cheek, uncharacteristically brave.

"Maybe you will." Shane answers, winking. Ryan smiles through the blush on his cheeks.

\-------------

The woods behind him, his camera in his pocket, the sun bearing down. As soon as he breaks the treeline and sees his car, his phone rings.

"Where the hell have you been?" TJ demands, and Ryan just laughs.

"You won't believe me if I tell you," he says, sitting in the driver's seat and turning the key. "But I found something amazing in the woods."


End file.
